i saw the norfolk show, too. i enjoyed every minute of dinosaur jr's set...j's rig was insanely loud and his tone just perfectly fuzzy. i've seen metal bands with more gear sound quieter. murph was pounding the crap out of the drums, and lou sounded good; they all seemed to be having a genuinely good time. j ripped off many inspired solos, and the highlight of the night for me was "the lung."
bardo pond has been one of my favorite bands since 1995, and my opinion of them is biased because they're good friends of mine and hooked me up with guest tickets for the show, so of course i'm gonna say they were great. however, of the 20 or so times i've seen them, saturday's set wasn't even close to their best. isobel's vocals were mixed way too high and the guitars were not loud enough. soundmen always feel they have to raise the vocals, but in bardo pond (much like in my bloody valentine), the vocals are designed to blend in with the instruments. that's a minor gripe, though...i still enjoyed bardo and i've never seen them half-ass a show.
majik markers, as always, were entertaining but not as good as the sets at noise against fascism and no fun. they exist partly to challenge, confront, and antagonize close-minded audiences. there were plenty of "you suck" and "get off the stage" jeers, to which elise replied back, "why don't you get up here and play? i'll play your dick man!" i thought it was pretty funny. majik markers, like the bunnybrains of the '90s, are really carrying the torch for retardo-rock. to "get it," one really needs a sense of humor and an appreciation for anything post-modern or reductionist. it is "punk" and "DIY" in its purest sense, saying "we can't play, but we do, so why don't you?"
set times were 25 for MM, 50 for BP, 90 for DJ. the norva was nowhere near sold-out, though there was a good size crowd.
